The Laura Babcock murder trial: Day 15

The trial of two men accused of killing Toronto woman Laura Babcock continues in Ontario Superior Court today.

In another email from July 3, Schlatman is asking for an update on when the incinerator might arrive.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:06:54 PM

In a response, Penner says it's loaded up and on the road.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:09:45 PM

Now an email from Schlatman on July 9: "Hi Bill, received the unit on Thursday .. WOW!! very impressive. A quick question, do you know the amount of gas it would take to run the unit for say 1hr? Or for a complete burn of 5 hrs? Just trying to figure out tank sizing.."

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:12:42 PM

Now a response from Penner. He says he was going to call to see how everything went. He also says hot much propane he would need. Penner says he never did meet Schlatman in person.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:14:16 PM

Another email from Penner: "Hi Shane, here is the invoice for the remainder of the incinerator. Please send a cheque for the amount. Any questions please let me know. That you for your business."

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:16:36 PM

One more email from Schlatman. In it, he's talking about having trouble getting the unit operational.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:19:26 PM

Penner says he's used Eliminator machines before. "In a 500 pound unit, if the burn has gone well ... there might be a five pound pail of ashes left over," he says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:22:35 PM

Penner says you get the ash out of the machine with a "rake" a steel tube with a piece on the end to pull ashes out of the bottom.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:23:20 PM

Penner says the rake comes with the unit. We've seen it in photos before.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:24:21 PM

Alongside with the propane, there's also an electrical hookup used to get it started and for a fan, Penner says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:26:14 PM

You need to plug the unit into an outlet or a generator to get it to run, Penner says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:28:27 PM

Penner says the animal placed inside the incinerator would sit on top of cement tubes inside the unit. "The purpose is to keep the carcass off the floor so it will burn better," Penner says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:32:00 PM

The Crown is now asking how the tubes are attached to the inside of the machine.

Millard now talking about the tubes that are in the incinerator. He's asking what the purpose is for each of them. "Number four tube, even in the photograph, you can tell it's a little bit higher," Millard says. "It's possible," Penner says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:37:20 PM

This is calling back to Millard's testimony from this morning, where he was saying these cement tubes weren't totally level, which would have thrown off calculations Dr. Tracy Rogers made.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:38:16 PM

Penner says that the tubes aren't 100 per cent straight, and there can be slight variations.

Penner says police forces sometimes even use these to dispose of contraband.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:40:36 PM

Millard now asking about the difference between the prices on the two units, and the "good value" of going from the 250 model to the 500.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:41:51 PM

Millard now asking about what makes this unit unique -- that it was put on a trailer. "It makes it able to travel to other locations, right?" Millard says, adding it could do more than one job, because it was mobile. "Making it mobile actually gives it the ability to shift from one job to the next," Millard says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:43:43 PM

Penner says a propane unit would have a smaller tank, and would make it easier to move around.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:45:10 PM

Millard asking if you could buy any of the pieces of this machine separately, and Penner says yes -- but says they've never sold a unit as individual pieces, unless they hadn't sold a unit to a person before.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:47:11 PM

We're now seeing an up close photo of the serial number of The Eliminator.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:49:15 PM

"Everything about this machine was done according to the standards and the rules that have to do with these machines, right?" Millard asks. "That's right," Penner says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:50:16 PM

Millard now asking about the "roll back lid," which allows the whole lid of the unit to roll off, to expose the whole body of the thing.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:51:10 PM

Penner says with that, you could load a four to five hundred pound pig into it. But for pet cremation, a hatch makes more sense, Penner says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:52:06 PM

Millard is done. Dungey has no cross. Now there's a reexamination from the Crown.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:53:22 PM

Crown asking about the advice they give clients as to specifications. Penner says it depends on what the client tells them they need to use it for.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:54:37 PM

The Crown is now done. Penner is finished.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:55:15 PM

Now taking the afternoon recess for fifteen minutes.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 8:55:47 PM

We're now back in session.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:18:50 PM

The next witness is Rhonda Haley.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:19:45 PM

She's been with Toronto police for 15 years, currently working with the forensic identification unit.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:20:37 PM

Crown Katie Doherty is asking about investigations she was part of in September and October of 2013.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:21:44 PM

We're starting with Sept 9-12, 2013, when she was conducting a search warrant on Millard's farm, where the Eliminator was found.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:23:55 PM

We're now seeing photos taken at Millard's farm. The first one is from the roadway, looking at the barn on the property.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:28:11 PM

Seeing another photo now of the left side of the barn, with a brown metal sliding door and discarded hay. We've seen these before.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:29:40 PM

Now seeing a photo of the rusty dumpster bin seen outside the farm.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:30:10 PM

We're seeing an upside down metal drum with holes drilled into it an feet welded to it to stand it up.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:32:13 PM

That barrel was seized by police, Haley says.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:33:36 PM

We're now seeing photos from inside the barn, were there's a bunch of metal drums.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:35:15 PM

Now we're seeing a shot of what looks like two metal drums welded together, with a third one wrapped around the bottom portion.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:37:12 PM

Now seeing another shot of the welded together barrels, with a blue barrel cut open and covering the bottom of the thing.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:38:31 PM

Haley says it appears to have a handle welded on it, which you'd use to drop it onto the barrel with the feet welded to it found outside the barn.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:39:54 PM

Haley says this was all seized by police.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:40:24 PM

Crown asks if there was hydro or power running at the barn, the officer says no, they had to use generators.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:41:45 PM

We're now seeing photos of where the hydro meter box would be for the farm, but there's nothing hooked up.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:43:37 PM

Now we're moving to October. Hayley says on that day she and her partner put the two parts of the barrels together to see how they'd fit. This was done at a police forensics building.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:44:43 PM

Now we're seeing the rusted barrel with the four feet on it, in an upright position.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:46:03 PM

Now we're seeing the other piece, two two barrels welded together, stood up next to it.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:46:38 PM

Now we're seeing the whole thing put together, stacked on top of itself.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:47:15 PM

"They fit together pretty well. We didn't have to force it," Hayley says. Now we're seeing her on a ladder next to the thing. It looks to be about eight or nine feet tall when it's all put together.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:48:45 PM

Millard is now cross-examining the officer.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:49:04 PM

Millard asks she ever attended a 371 Riverside Drive address for the investigation. She says no.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:49:56 PM

Millard now says he wants to show her four photos.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:50:15 PM

We're seeing a shot of six plastic garbage cans, with a blue tarp in one of them. Millard asks if this appears to be the inside of the barn. She says yes.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:51:23 PM

Millard now showing another photo of a blue tarp.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:52:24 PM

Millard now says he's done, no questions. No questions from Dungey, no reexamination.

by Adam Carter11/14/2017 9:53:17 PM

That's it, we're done for the day, back at 10 a.m. tomorrow. This is my last day filling in on the trial, Shannon Martin will be back tomorrow with regular live blog and story updates. Thanks for following along with me for the last few days.